One seat on the Raft
by CarrieBerry
Summary: There's one seat on the raft and two people who want it. Speculative fiction based on scenes from the newest preview trailer for upcoming episodes.


* * *

Totally uncreative title: One Seat on the Raft  
Characters involved: Sawyer/Kate with appearances by Michael and Jack  
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me they are the creation of JJ Abrams and property of ABC.  
Note: Got this idea from the previews for the episodes to come, primarily the conversation between Kate and Sawyer about the raft. This is basically the way I hope it will play out.  
Rated R for droppin' F-bombs. 

As Kate turns away from Michael, her charmingly shy grin turns to a cold gaze. She can hear Hurley in the background questioning Michael. "That's the third time I've seen her bring you water this week. Little somethin' going on, dude?"

Kate walks away from the conversation, giving it little thought. Whether Michael noticed her intentions or not, she's sure of her actions, sure they'll get her what she wants.

"I know what you're trying to do." Damn. Sawyer.

Kate continues to walk, rolling her eyes as she walks past his tent. Sawyer's hand on her arm stops her short. She moves her gaze from the offending hand up to his dead eyes. He's pissed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sawyer. You want to get your hand off me." She tries to shrug out of his grip, but it's like iron.

"You're not taking my spot on that raft. You know it's the only way off this island for us. Shoulda acted sooner, sweetness." He spits the last word at her and smiles as she flinches.

"Whatever, Sawyer. The raft will get spotted and they'll send help back. The rest of us will just wait." She's stiffens as he drags her into his tent.

He leans in close, his breath hot on her ear. "That might work for everyone else, Freckles, but you and I are different. We don't need the attention. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling you need to disappear even more than I do. That raft's our only chance."

Kate's breathing hard. 'He's figured me out. I should have given him more credit.'

His nose brushes her ear as he whispers "You think rescue will show up here without a roster of who was on the plane? You think you'll just blend into the crowd? If you're on the raft, you have a better shot. More chances to run if no one knows you. Same goes for me. That's why you're not taking that FUCKIN' SEAT!" His volume increases with his last words and she pulls away from him, from the heat and anger.

Her mind racing, she wrenches her arm away. She turns to leave and changes her mind. Fuck it. In a cold whisper, "I'm taking that seat. You think I can't get it. Do you have any idea what will happen to me if rescue comes and I get caught again? You have no fucking clue. I need that seat more than you and I get what I want."

Sawyer stares at her. She's mad, furious, but so calm, so sure. He realizes then how much alike they really are, how desperate and controlling they both can be. If it's a battle of wills and wits, he's not sure who will win.

Kate stalks away and he watches her go. 'Goddamn it! Wish we could both go. We could help each other. It's gonna be tough for either of us to get away alone.' Sawyer sits, rolling options around in his mind. Women have always come easy, but not this woman and he knows it.

The worst part is that he feels awful about leaving her. He had to be harsh with her. If it's between him and her going, he's going to go, but he knows what will happen if she's still with the others when rescue comes.

Kate's thoughts whirl as she stalks through the jungle. Frustrated and angry at being found out, she struggled to come up with a new plan. 'Playing Michael is out of the question now. Sawyer will have no qualms about telling him what I'm up to. Shit.' She runs through options in her head and comes up empty. 'If only we could both go. How do you explain that you're both on the run from the law and the raft is your best bet?'

* * *

Kate approaches the tent cautiously, trying to peer around the flap without him noticing, trying to gauge his mood. 'Shit, he's not wearing a shirt. I hate it when he does that. It's distracting.' 

"You want something, Freckles or are you just admiring the view? I'd say you could touch but I'm a little pissed at ya right now. Sorry."

He still sounds angry, but at least he's semi-flirting. 'That's a good sign' she thinks.

Kate steps into his tent and pulls him to his feet. "We're going for a walk. We need to talk."

"Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I don't feel like going for a walk with you, Freckles. So why don't you go find the good doc and get the hell outta my tent. Now." Sawyer tried to wrench his arm away, but this time it's Kate who has an iron grip. She pulls him down toward her and whispers against his ear.

"I have a plan. We can both go, but I don't want to talk about it here."

'Dammit,' he thinks. 'Her breath is so hot. Fuck it, a walk might be fun.' He sighs, "Okay, I'll take a walk with you, but don't expect any help from me. I already have a seat."

"I don't need your help, I need you to keep your mouth shut and listen, then I need you to tell me what you think. I don't need anyone's help, but if you don't think it'll work, I want to know."

"Alright, sugar plum, let's go for a walk."

* * *

"Hey, Michael, I brought you guys some water." Kate smiles her best 'I'm-the-perfect-combination-of-sexy-smart-and-helpful' smile and hands him a few bottles. 

"Thanks, Kate. It gets pretty hot under the sun and we're pushing ourselves hard since it's almost done."

"Sawyer doesn't seem to be working too hard," she comments, seemingly uninterested.

"Well, he bought his ticket with parts, so he doesn't do much now." Michael offers a sheepish grin, knowing a lot of the survivors thought it was shitty of him to sell a seat.

"Wish I'd had something to offer" Kate sighs, almost sounding wistful.

"I'd offer you his spot . . . but . . ." Michael looks pained at the whole conversation.

"No, no, I don't expect that. He already paid. I wouldn't take his spot. If another one opens up, though, let me know." She gives him her wry 'it'll-never-happen-but-it's-fun-to-dream-by-the-way-I'm-gorgeous' grin. "See you later."

Sawyer watches the exchange with interest from down the beach. 'She's laid the groundwork. She might actually pull this off.' He smiles and watches her walk away, toward the water. The wind catches her hair and she glances in his direction as she brushes it from her face. For a split second, he sees her grin. 'So pleased with herself. She's good. We'll be riding that raft together.'

Sawyer leans his head back and starts to chuckle, deep in his throat. 'I can't wait to see the look on the Doc's face.'

* * *

Jack and Kate are sitting in amicable silence, cleaning fish. This had become a habit of theirs, cleaning the fish together. Sometimes they'd have quiet conversations. Sometimes they'd lightly flirt, but it was always just about company. 'We enjoy each other's company,' Jack thought. 'It's so comforting to just sit in silence and clean fish because I'm with Kate.' He gazed at her fondly, watching her curls dance in the ocean breeze. 

Kate can feel his eyes on her. She's been waiting for one of these quiet moments with him. Hating to break the silence but knowing she has no choice, she says "The raft's almost done."

"I know. Michael says it will be ready to go in a couple of days."

"And Michael, Walt, Jin, and Sawyer will be leaving." She pauses to lend weight to her next question. "How do you think they'll do?"

"I don't know. I'm worried, but it's our best chance." Jack sighs. He knows how dangerous it will be, but they're out of options.

"Do you know what worries me the most?" Kate's eyes search his out. She sounds very upset and Jack sets down his fish, giving her his full attention. "He's taking Walt. Walt's only 10. If they need to paddle or steer, he won't be able to hold his own. He'll become dehydrated faster if it comes to that." Kate sighs and gathers her thoughts. "I'm afraid Michael's blinded by his desire to get him off the island. He doesn't see that Walt would be safer here, waiting for rescue with everyone else. If the raft gets picked up, they'll let people know we're here and Walt will be rescued with the rest of us. God forbid, if the raft doesn't make it, at least he didn't die on the open ocean." Kate looks down and then back up sheepishly, "Am I being overprotective and dramatic?" She smiles her 'I'm-such-a-silly-Kate-but-I'm-also-really-worried' smile.

"I'll talk to him," Jack says. "You're right, but I don't know if I can make him see that."

* * *

Sawyer sits by "their" waterfall and eyes the pool warily. 'Can I swim here again? Knowing there are rotting corpses in the bottom, is it morbid to swim here again?' His mind recoils at the thought of swimming in corpse soup but his body longs for the feel of the fresh water. Salt water baths are leaving him raw. He strips his shirt and unlaces his boots. 

Hearing a sound, he stiffens. In this place, anything other than random jungle sounds is cause for concern. Cautiously he turns to find Kate approaching. Her grin is a mile wide.

"Guess who just got offered a spot on the raft?" He stands and she walks up to him. 'He's not wearing a shirt again, dammit.' He surprises her by pulling her into a hug and Kate's delighted to find herself pressed against his shirtless chest. 'Mmmm,' she thinks. 'This day just keeps getting better.'

"You know I hated the thought of leaving you behind, Freckles," he said after he released her. "There was just no way around it."

She flashed him a triumphant grin. "Actually there was, I just had to do it myself." She looks at the pool and his shirt on the ground. "Planning on taking a swim?"

He looks at the water and back at her. "I was thinkin' 'bout it, but I can't decide if I can swim in corpse soup again voluntarily-"

He's cut off as she pushes him in the water. Sawyer surfaces, sputtering and looking one part pissed and one part delighted. It turns to total delight as she strips off her pants and shirt and plunges in after him.

"This waterfall is probably the only thing I'll miss about this godforsaken island." Kate grins at him. "So I think we can take one more swim."

Sawyer's still trying to process her near nudity when she swims over to him and pulls him close. "And when we're tired of swimming, we can get out and celebrate by making ourselves a little more tired." She pulls him in for a kiss.

* * *

Kate and Sawyer appear from the jungle looking more relaxed than anyone has since they crashed. They look damp and clean and utterly content. Jack frowns at them as they walk past. "Where have you two been?" 

Sawyer surprises Jack by saying nothing at all. Kate answers him with a faint smile and a small shake of her head. They just walk past him and on down the beach.

"Well, you missed a lot. Someone burned the new raft." He has their attention now.

"What?" Kate and Sawyer say simultaneous. Without even realizing she was doing it, Kate stepps away from Sawyer. He felt the distance immediately, knew what it meant. Nothing had changed. The afternoon never happened. There was nothing to celebrate, so there was no celebration. He watches Kate walk off with Jack, questioning him, concerned. He realizes that this place will always keep them apart, because here they don't have to be the same.


End file.
